Setting up a Facebook business page is one of the best decisions you can make.
Antonio Arias
There are countless ways of growing a brand. Many practitioners wonder whether a Facebook page for their practice is worth the hassle. Facebook is easier than you think. It is also the most cost-effective marketing solution for reaching your target audience. If you aren't sure how to get started or still need a little convincing, consider the following:
Why Facebook?
Facebook is the third most visited website on the internet.
Facebook boasts 2.41 billion users per month.
71 percent of adults in the U.S. use Facebook.
Seniors are the fastest-growing segment of users on Facebook.
90 million small businesses list their services on Facebook.
Facebook facilitates communication with your target audience. It puts a human face on your practice. It introduces you and your professional mission to the world, all while driving traffic to your website and keeping prospects and patients informed on your offerings – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Here's the best part of establishing a Facebook page for your business — it's free! It won't cost you a dime to set up a page. You can always choose to spend money on additional paid advertising, but establishing a professional page will only cost you a few minutes of your time.
Setting Up a Business Page
Facebook does a great job of giving you step-by-step instructions to start a brand-new business page or convert an existing personal profile into a business page. Before you start, there are a few pieces of information you should have on hand.
First, create a brief description of your practice for the "About Us" section. Share a bit about your education, what inspired your passion for acupuncture, and even a bit about your family or personal hobbies. Let people get a glimpse of who you are, both inside and outside the office.
You'll also need to decide on a profile and cover photo. Keep it professional. This reflects your business and establishes a client's first impression. Your headshot, the outside of your building, waiting rooms, and/or pictures of treatment rooms are all excellent options. Facebook provides recommended image dimensions and file types here.
Next, think about a call to action. Facebook allows a call-to-action button at the top of your page. Be mindful of what behavior you want to drive when someone visits your page. It could be as general as "learn more" about your practice; or as specific as "make an appointment" or "call now." Don't be afraid to take a peek at other professional pages to get an idea of what makes sense for your page.
Promoting Your Page
Once you've established a Facebook business page, it's time to promote. If you have a practice website, make sure to link it to Facebook. Add a link to all of your outgoing emails. Invite your patients to follow your page. Then, consider allocating a budget for Facebook advertising. The minimum you can spend is $1 per day or $30 per month. Facebook provides filtering options to target your ads on an individual's interests and location. Facebook offers answers to frequently asked questions about ads and pricing at the Facebook Business Solutions page here.
Practice Takeaway
Marketing initiatives take time and require commitment. Facebook is just one of a series of tools to boost your brand and name recognition. However, for most practitioners, it is the easiest and most cost-effective way to start growing your practice.
As modern medical standardization continues, the field of traditional Chinese medicine has the advantage of comprehensive personalization. For rare or complex cases, deeper consideration of constitution is invaluable. Proper constitutional assessment, especially with first-time clients, can guide desirable and predictable outcomes. This leads to a higher rate of return, and greater trust between you and your patient.
Though the creation of a financially sustainable, health-promoting model feels far away today, we are casting a vision for a full return on health, believing that this compels us to keep one foot firmly rooted in caring for the sick and the other foot firmly founded in maintaining health. Shifting from a fee-for-service model to value-based care using a phased approach is paramount.
Laser therapy has emerged as a powerful tool in the realm of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This new modality fits beautifully into the toolbox of the modern acupuncturist, as it can be used as a hybrid form of stimulation to acupuncture points, meridians, organs, nerves, and symptomatic areas in a new way that blends both moxa and energetic needle-like responses.
